


This Adventure Called Life

by alakewood



Category: CW Network RPF, Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-07
Updated: 2013-02-07
Packaged: 2017-11-28 13:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/674961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alakewood/pseuds/alakewood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a young boy exploring his grandfather's ranch, Jensen Ackles stumbles upon Jared Padalecki, a stranger with a secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Adventure Called Life

**Author's Note:**

> This is a J2 AU based on _Tuck Everlasting_ written for the J2_Everafter comm on LJ.
> 
> Thanks to tsubasalove87 for the beta!

\- = - = -

_Present Day_

Jensen leafs through the thick legal document one more time, double-checking every blue-colored tab that marks where he's supposed to sign and initial, making sure all his metaphorical _I_ s are dotted and _T_ s are crossed. Everything looks to be in order, so he slips the ownership papers for the ranch into a large yellow mailing envelope, closing the flap and securing the strip of adhesive, then scrawling Mackenzie's name across the front in Sharpie.

He feels an invisible weight lift off his shoulders when he settles the envelope into the Priority Overnight FedEx box already addressed to his little sister, topping off the small package with another envelope. This one is standard letter-size, containing a single sheet of the personal stationary Mackenzie had gotten him months after he took over control of the ranch following the horrible accident that tore his family apart. He's done great things for the business and the farm in the last few years, but there's something bigger and better waiting for him out there and the whole world is at his feet.

His letter doesn't go into a whole lot of detail as to the _why_ of his leaving, just explains that he needs to do more with his life – actually experience it – and that he'll eventually come back, come home. He's not expecting her to uproot her entire life in the city to take over the daily operations, he just wants her to own it. Jim and JD are more than capable of running things. Hell, JD's taught Jensen nearly everything he knows about the business. He's not worried in that respect. It's more about making sure the land stays in the family because he knows he's never going to leave that kind of legacy behind.

Outside his office door, Sadie barks excitedly and Jensen can hear JD hushing her, plying her with a piece of the jerky he always carries. There's a light knock on the open door before JD pokes his head in. “You 'bout ready, boss?”

“What'd I tell you, JD? _You_ 're the boss now.”

“'s gonna take some gettin' used to, I reckon.”

“No different than things are now. Just won't have me to order around.”

JD laughs loudly at that, dimples denting his stubbled cheeks with his wide smile. “Might actually have to do some work 'round here's what you're sayin', huh?”

Jensen taps his nose before sealing the box and handing it over to JD. “So. Can you make sure that gets to town before two?”

“Sure thing, b- _Jensen,_ ” JD corrects with a wink.

Shouldering his battered, oversized hiking pack, Jensen gives his office one good, long last look to make sure he hasn't forgotten anything.

“Any idea where you're headed?” JD asks as Jensen moves towards the door.

“Not a clue,” Jensen says as he steps outside, stooping slightly to scratch behind both of Sadie's ears just how she likes. It's not the truth, but it's not exactly a lie, either. There's one stop he has to make first, but that's not for JD to know about. “Guess that's what makes it an adventure.”

“Well, you come back anytime, now. Don't be a stranger, son.” The ranch foreman holds out his dirt-stained hand and stares at Jensen with suspiciously misty eyes.

Jensen takes the offered hand and pulls JD into a hearty hug. “I may have to take you up on that, JD.”

“See to it that you do.” He releases Jensen with a couple pats to his back before holding him at arm's-length and giving him a long look. “Take care of yourself, kid. And that mutt, too.”

Sadie barks like she knows JD's talking about her, butts her head against his knee until he lets go of Jensen again to give her another pet.

“Will do. Try to keep the ranch in some semblance of order.”

“No promises,” JD grins.

“Well, I guess this is it.” He heaves a sigh and gives JD a melancholy smile. “Goodbye, Jeff.”

“See you 'round, Jen.”

With a final nod, Jensen heads off towards the pole shed that serves as a garage for the ranch's three ATVs and Jensen's F150. He glances over his shoulder and sees the dust trail rising on the breeze as JD heads down the gravel drive towards the highway. Jensen bypasses the shed altogether – he left the keys on their hook in his office with a note for JD to keep an eye on that tire they patched after that ice storm in January – and heads past the stables, then right on into the field, Sadie trotting along at his side before running ahead to nip at the knees of a couple young calves. Jensen just laughs, feels lighter with each step as he travels deeper into the land his grandfather's grandfather bought over a century ago.

The further away from the ranch he gets, the closer he is to his fate. He's been waiting for this day for years, has been planning it for months and counting down the days. Now, in a matter of minutes, he'll reach the tree and the spring he stumbled upon when he was ten. The tree, the spring, and Jared.

His destiny.

\- = - = -

_Early June 1988_

The minute the van stops, Jensen's pulling the sliding side door open, Harley charging out into the dusty brown landscape of Ackles Ranch ahead of him. They've been cooped up and on the road nearly all day and as soon as he's gone into the big house to see his Papa, he and Harley are gonna explore.

It's been a long time since they've been out here to visit, but Daddy and Mama made them all pack up their things to move out to East Texas after Papa's accident. Daddy said the ranch is theirs now, so he's gonna have to learn all about cows and some about horses. Jensen's kind of upset that he's gotta leave all his friends in Lubbock, but, even though it's all dusty and dry on the ranch, there's a lot more green stuff, too. There's a bunch of pine trees and big, tall trees with big, green leaves that look like they could be maples or oaks or something. And there's a river a couple miles north and a couple little ponds on Papa's land that help keep everything a little more green. Besides all that, and all the space he has to call his own, he's kind of excited to learn how to ride a horse.

But, for now, he's gotta help carry boxes into the house with Josh and Mama while Daddy takes Mack inside with him to go see Papa. Once everybody's settled and they've got all the boxes in, he can go see Papa, but only for a little bit, and he's gotta be quiet. So he does what his Mama tells him to, helps Josh carry boxes of his clothes and his toys to the room they've gotta share.

Jensen feels sweaty and dirty by the time he and Josh get all their boxes into their room and all he wants to do is go outside where there's a nice, cool breeze and play with Harley and maybe go see the horses, but Mama catches him by the back of his shirt as he tries to go back outside and makes him go wash his face and his hands so he can go in and see Papa.

Papa doesn't look like Jensen remembers. He looks pale and smaller than Daddy, and Jensen notices what's really different when Daddy stands up from where he's been sitting next to Papa on the edge of his bed. Papa's missing half his leg. Mama explains how one of the bulls charged at Papa and broke his leg, how he broke it so bad part of it had to get cut off. It's strange and kind of scary and Jensen's not sure if he's gonna like living on a ranch if the cows are mean like that.

Papa tells him that not all the cows are mean, that the bull probably got scared and tried to scare Papa away from him, but ended up hurting him because it was so big. Mama tries to help by telling him it's like when Jensen was playing with Harley and Harley bit him – Harley didn't bite him to be mean, it was just how he played. It kind of makes sense to Jensen, but not really, because there's a difference between a couple of scratches from Harley's teeth and a big, old bull getting scared enough to break your leg so bad it has to get cut off.

Jensen just nods like he understands and tells Papa about school and Harley and how he maybe wants to play baseball this summer. Then Mama tells Jensen that they should let Papa rest and lets him go outside to play.

Harley is racing back and forth along a fence made of wood posts, barking at the cows on the other side. “Hey! Harley!” Jensen yells, racing over to his dog and grabbing him by the collar. “Stay away from 'em. They'll hurt you.”

But Harley just barks at him and goes back over to the fence to keep on chasing the cows.

“C'mon, Harley. C'mon, boy.” Jensen jogs along the fence and calls Harley to follow him.

The fence goes on forever, it feels like. Jensen looks back and can't see the big, white house or the big, red barn. He can't see the long line of pine trees along the driveway or the horse stable. Ahead of him, Harley barks and bounds up the hill on the inside of the fence. He thinks about heading back because this is kind of boring and his feet are starting to hurt and he's really thirsty, but he can't leave Harley – especially around those big, mean cows – so he trudges after the dog.

At the top of the hill, Jensen stops and looks at the land spreading out all around him, the tall trees surrounded by bright green grass in the valley. This spot is hidden away from everything else, a little place between hills and out of sight of the wooden fence. With a burst of energy, he chases after Harley, who woofs at him and darts around his feet as he enters the trees. The sunlight is patchy where it shines through the leaves, bright spots in constant motion as the branches move in the wind every time it gusts. It's a lot cooler here, in the shade, and Jensen follows Harley further into the woods wanting nothing more than to lay down on the soft-looking grass and rest for a while.

The patches of sunlight start getting bigger and the trees aren't nearly as close as they were before, then Jensen's tripping over his own feet, stumbling into a small clearing with a really, _really_ tall, really big tree in the middle. And, on the ground in front of the tree, there's a guy a lot younger than his daddy but definitely older than Josh, who just turned thirteen at the beginning of summer.

They stare at each other for a really long time. The guy's down on his knees, back hunched over, hands cupped beneath his mouth and-- is that water? Jensen's pretty sure that's a puddle he sees at the bottom of the tree and, man. That's really _gross._

Harley trots across the space between them and the guy shakes his head like he doesn't realize he's staring. “What are you doing here?” he asks, letting the water drip out of his hands.

Jensen watches as he runs his wet fingers through his long, kinda girly hair and almost forgets the question. “What? This is-- This-- My daddy owns all this land. What are _you_ doing here?”

“Just-” The guy lets out a loud sigh as he stands like Josh does when their Mama makes him let Jensen tag along with him and his friends wherever they're going. He closes his eyes and shakes his head again and, for a minute, Jensen thinks that, maybe, he's mad. “Just stopped to rest a bit.”

“Oh.” Jensen scuffs the toe of his sneaker in the grass before taking a step closer. Harley slowly makes his way over to the guy and Jensen notices how tall he is. He's not older than Jensen's daddy, but he's _definitely_ taller.

Harley moves closer and closer until he's right at the guy's side, then he flops down right there at his feet.

“That's Harley. And... I'm Jensen.” He knows he's not supposed to talk to strangers, but Harley seems to like him, so.

“I'm Jared,” the guy says.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

For a long time, they just kinda stand there, looking at each other, Harley laying at the guy's – Jared's – feet. Then Harley whuffs and starts rolling in the grass, wriggling like he does when he finds a good patch of dust. Jared laughs and Jensen does, too. Then Harley rolls back over onto his belly and crawls towards that puddle of water and the smile drops off Jared's face so fast as he reaches down and grabs Harley by his collar and hauls him back with enough force that Harley coughs.

“What-” Jensen starts to ask, rushing over to where Harley's huddled on the ground with his tail tucked low, and wraps his arms around his scared dog.

“You can't-- shit. You can't let him drink from the water. And you can't either. It's-- it's like poison.”

“But you did.”

“Yeah, and-- and now my stomach's all upset.”

Jensen can tell that he's lying, but he knows better than to call a grown up a liar. “I guess,” he says, rubbing at Harley's ears.

“Just. You should stay away from here, okay?”

“How did you find this place, anyway?” Jensen asks him. He and Harley found it by mistake and there aren't any roads close by except for the one by the ranch and that's pretty far away.

Jared looks away and bites at his lips again. “I've-- I've been through the area before.”

“But why would you stop here again if the water's not good?”

“It was fine before,” Jared says. “But it's not anymore so you can't drink it. You can't let anybody else drink it.”

“Okay, okay. I get it. Jeez.” Jensen's not sure he likes Jared, but he's the first grown up that's talked to him like he's not just a little kid, even if he's trying to tell him what to do. “So... where are you going?”

“Wherever,” Jared tells him after a minute. “I just... go wherever I want. Pick a direction and start walkin' sometimes. Read about an interesting place and go.”

“You ever been to that place up in Amarillo with all the cars stuck in the ground?”

Jared grins. “Cadillac Ranch?”

“Yeah. We used to live in Lubbock and Daddy always said we'd go. We drove past it once but didn't stop and now it's too far away.”

“I've never been there, either.”

“I bet it's cool.”

They sit quietly for a long time before Harley huffs and ducks away from Jensen, barking at him as he starts towards the trees. “I should probably be goin',” Jared says, picking up a bag Jensen didn't notice until now and slinging it over his shoulder.

“Yeah. Me, too.” He watches Jared walk away, the opposite direction from the way he and Harley have to go to get back to the ranch. “Hey, Jared?”

Jared pauses at the tree line, one of his big hands wrapped almost all the way around the thin trunk of one a short tree with brown leaves. “Yeah?”

“Do you think-- maybe, I don't know.” Jensen feels his face get all hot with his embarrassment. “Nevermind.”

“Jensen?”

“I just. You think you'll ever come back?” Jensen doesn't dare look up from Jared's scuffed boots.

“Yeah, Jensen. I'll be back. Same time, every year.”

“Cool. Guess I'll... I'll see you next year.”

“See you next year.”

Jensen glances up at Jared long enough to see Jared's smile and wave, and to wave back before following after Harley before his nosy dog can get himself into any more trouble.

\- = - = -

_Two months later..._

Jensen follows Josh off the school bus at the end of their lane, meeting Harley at the fence. “It's your turn to get the mail, dorkface,” Josh laughs at him as he kicks gravel at a fat squirrel before it runs up the fence post and chatters at him angrily.

With a sigh, Jensen gives Harley a last pat before going over to the mailbox that sits crookedly on its post with _Ackles Ranch_ on the side in peeling, sun-bleached stickers. He looks through the letters for his mama and daddy and there's a couple things in there for Papa, too. Then something catches his eye – it's a postcard with a picture of the spray-painted cars stuck in the dirt in a line at Cadillac Ranch. Jensen grins as he flips it over.

_Jensen-_

_It's just as cool as you said!_

_\- Jared_

He carefully sticks the postcard between his math workbook and the copy of _Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh_ he checked out from the library on Tuesday.

Jensen can't stop smiling for days.

\- = - = -

_Early 1993_

The ranch is under preparations for Jensen's parents' anniversary party and no matter where Jensen tries to help or tries his best to stay out of the way, he still manages to somehow be underfoot. At least, according to Josh. Jared's not due for his yearly visit for a handful of months but that doesn't stop Jensen from leading Harley off towards the trees and the spring. He's got a few hours before he's due back to the house and can't think of a better place to spend his time.

But without a book or anything else to occupy his mind, Jensen falls asleep leaning against the tree, nestled between its roots where they burst through the ground, fingers idly dipping into the pool of the spring.

It's Harley's wet tongue across the back of his hand that wakes him, faint light in the wood tinged gold as the sun sinks closer to the horizon. First, Jensen panics because he's probably going to be late getting back home and his parents will be worried and angry in equal measure. Then he looks down at Harley, who is lapping at the water from the spring, and remembers the promise he made to Jared that first summer they met.

“No, Harley,” he whispers, grabbing hold of the dog's collar and pulling him away.

Harley whimpers and tugs against his collar, wriggling around to lick Jensen's face.

“Oh, no, boy.” Jensen runs his hands down Harley's back and hugs him close. “Stupid dog.”

Harley just woofs and licks his ear.

Jared warned him about the water from the spring, but Harley seems fine. For now, at least.

\- = - = -

A couple of months go by and Harley is still okay. If anything, he seems like he's got more energy than he used to, with the way he goads the spring calves and nips at the horses' tails. Jensen watches him regardless.

Summer seems to start early with temperatures reaching almost eighty in the middle of April, and it's just as dry as it was when they made the move out towards Tyler. There have been some distant rumblings of thunder all afternoon with the weatherman on KETK predicting the first real rainfall of the year.

It's Thursday and Jensen's sitting at his desk next to the wide-open window to catch what little bit of a breeze is coming in as he finishes the last of his algebra homework. After a while, the rolling flash of heat lightning draws his attention outside then the breeze brings in the damp-earth smell of rain. The dirt outside is still pale and dry, but the scent carries the promise of the storm.

One minute, the thunder is rumbling overhead, pink flickers of lightning streaking the low, dark clouds, then Jensen can hear the _pat pat pat_ of rain hitting the dust of the lane between the house and the barn visible outside his window. The branches of the tall ash tree next to the barn sway as the wind picks up and Harley barks from the porch. The _crack_ of lightning striking the tree is deafeningly loud and blindingly bright and Jensen blinks against the jagged images burned into his vision as he watches the tree burst into flames faster than the dry tinder from the bonfire they had last weekend.

Jensen just stares for a minute before he shoves out of his chair so hard it's falling to the floor and runs out of his room and down the hall, races down the stairs so fast he nearly misses the last three steps. “Dad!” he yells, skidding into the kitchen. “Dad, lightning hit the tree! The barn's on fire!”

His father almost shatters his coffee mug when his hands come down to set it on the counter and Jensen follows him out the back door, both of the them stopping short on the porch at the sight of the barn, roof nearly engulfed with licking, orange flames.

Harley's barking at the doors and Jensen can hear the lowing and whinnying of scared cows and horses from where he stands.

“Open the gate to the pasture, Jensen,” his father barks, running down from the porch and jumping the fence as he rushes towards the barn, throwing the doors open and narrowly missing Harley. The pregnant livestock sounds even more terrified now that their sounds aren't muffled and Jensen hurries to unlatch the gate, climbing up the fence to make sure he's out of the way of the cows and horses when they run from the barn.

Jensen blinks against the rain that starts falling hard but does nothing to stop the fire on the roof of the barn from spreading down the sides and around the front. The first of the cows clears the barn, nearly running trampling Harley as the dog hovers outside the door. “Harley!” Jensen screams over the thunder. “Come here, boy!”

But the dog just prances around in front of the open doors, backing up only when two of the horses stumble over him. Smoke starts pouring from the doors followed by the rest of the cows moving in one large mass and Harley doesn't stand a chance. Jensen watches in horror as Harley gets caught underfoot of the stampede. He scrambles back over the fence and collapses in the mud next to the motionless dog – Harley is still and quiet for a few moments before he whimpers and his tail wags, then he's jumping up to his feet and licking Jensen's face like nothing happened.

“Dumb dog was damn lucky,” Jensen's dad tells him from the doorway, rain cutting through the ash on his face in streaks, but Jensen knows better. He remembers Jared's warning and, in that moment, he knows _why._ The spring must be some kind of _magic._

Harley wriggles in Jensen's arms and manages to cover Jensen's old basketball shorts and ratty tank with mud as he licks the rain from Jensen's face and Jensen can't care as he watches his father herd the cattle and horses towards the pasture and away from the fire. He tugs Harley under the fence and over to the porch, listens to the screen bang shut as his mother joins him.

Luckily, all they lose is the barn. It was a close thing with Harley, but he can't tell his parents about it. He can't tell anyone except Jared.

But he doesn't have to keep the secret for long because it's only a couple of months before he's due back, and Jensen comes upon him drinking from the spring, splashing the water over his face and bare chest, hair dripping wet. “It's magic, isn't it?”

Jared whirls on him, eyes wide and jaw slack with surprise.

“Harley drank from it a while ago – I couldn't stop him. A few weeks after, he got trampled by over a dozen cattle and jumped right up like nothing happened.”

“Promise me,” Jared begs, reaching for Jensen's hands and clasping them between his own. “Promise me you'll never drink from it.”

Jensen feels his cheeks heat up with embarrassment at the way Jared's large hands curl around his and can't meet his eyes. “I-”

“Jensen, _please!_ It's not the kind of life you want. It's not a _life._ ”

“I won't,” Jensen tells him, finally looking up at him. “At least, not today.” Jared doesn't immediately let go of him, but Jensen doesn't mind. “Why's it so bad?” he finally asks.

Jared releases his hands and drops to the ground to lean back against the tree. He tells Jensen how he watched his family get old and die, how he had to leave long before that because he wasn't getting any older himself and started to draw unwanted attention. He tells him how lonely he's been always on the move, nobody to share his life or adventures with.

“So... how old are you, then?” Jensen asks, crossing his legs Indian-style where he sits in the grass near Jared's feet.

“Twenty-four.”

Jensen rolls his eyes and throws a balled up leaf at him. “How long have you been twenty-four?”

“About ninety years, now.”

“That's a really long time to be alone.”

Jared shrugs, not meeting Jensen's eyes. “It's not so bad,” he lies. “The days all blur together after a while.”

“I'll be here, every year,” Jensen promises, wanting to make the sad, resigned look on Jared's face go away. “You can always talk to me about it. And, the rest of the time... You should take Harley with you. If he can't ever die, he probably shouldn't stay. My dad's surprised he's lasted this long on the ranch, as much trouble as he gets into.”

“Jensen.”

“I can just tell my dad he ran off. Please. You can bring him back to see me next year.”

“If you're sure,” Jared says, smile slowly stretching wide enough to reveal his dimples, and Jensen feels something clench in his chest even as heat pools between his thighs. “We'll be here, won't we, boy?” Jared reaches out to ruffle the fur behind Harley's ears and gets a happy bark in response.

\- = - = -

_June 1996_

Jensen's in the kitchen with his mother helping to peel potatoes for the enormous batch of potato salad she's making for his graduation party when a truck he doesn't recognize rumbles up the lane and parks outside the back door.

“Who is it, sweetie?” his mother asks as he watches the driver's-side door of the dark blue Silverado open.

Jensen might not recognize the truck, but he recognizes that head of hair. “It's just a friend of mine,” he says, distractedly wiping his hands off on the dish towel over his shoulder. “I'll be right back.” He's pushing through the screen door and bounding down the porch steps before his mother can even reply.

“Hey,” Jared says with a grin as he leans against the side of the truck. It's the first time he's ever come to the house.

“Hey, yourself,” Jensen laughs, pulling him into a hug. “What the hell, man?”

“As much fun as it is meeting up with you in the woods, I was thinking we could go into Dallas or something one of these nights?” He looks down at Jensen through the hair that falls across his eyes and Jensen has to wonder if he's imagining the blush he sees across Jared's cheeks.

“Yeah,” Jensen says, taking half a step back. “That would be awesome. Is later tonight okay? I've gotta help my mom finish getting food and stuff ready for my graduation party tomorrow afternoon. I should be free in a couple hours.”

“Okay.” Jared glances at the watch on his wrist. “So, if I come back around six?”

“Yeah. That sounds perfect.”

“Awesome.” The grin he gives Jensen is even brighter than he remembers and he can't help but return it. “Oh. Before I go...” He nods towards the cab of the truck.

“What?”

Jared laughs and gives him a nudge. “Come see.” He leans against the door frame around the passenger-side window. “Look.”

Jensen hears the happy little bark of the puppy on the seat before he sees it, little tail wagging so vigorously the puppy nearly loses its balance as it braces its paws on the inside of the door. “Jay. He's adorable.” He reaches a hand in to stroke down the puppy's back, tan and black fur soft and sun-warm under his palm.

“ _Her_ name is Sadie. I found her on the side of I-35 north of Oklahoma City.”

“What? Poor girl.”

“As well as she gets along with Harley,” Jared says, leaning in a little closer before nudging Jensen with his elbow, “I thought that you might want to keep her.”

“Jared,” Jensen says, glancing up from the puppy with a shake of his head. “I don't know.”

“I can't take her with me and, well, you gave Harley to me so I thought I could return the favor.” Jared, himself, looks like a puppy with the earnest, beseeching look in his hazel eyes.

“Are you sure?”

Sadie yips and strains up on her hind legs to lick Jensen's chin. “Of course. She's too little to be on the road in the truck all the time.” His hand skims up Jensen's spine before patting his back. “Besides, she likes you more than she likes me.”

Jensen laughs and glances at Jared out of the corner of his eye. “I find that hard to believe.” He realizes belatedly that he's _flirting._

Jared's fingers curl around Jensen's shoulder with a brief squeeze. “She totally does.” His hand lingers for a moment longer, then he's reaching through the open window to pick up the wriggling mass of puppy and settling her against Jensen's chest. “If, for some crazy reason, your parents won't let you keep her, I can take her back with me tonight when I come get you.”

“Don't know how they could say no to this face,” Jensen says, looking up at Jared.

“Me either,” Jared tells him with a half-smile curling his mouth and a dark, heated look in his eyes. “So. Six?”

“Six.”

“I'll see you then.” He gives Jensen's shoulder another squeeze before stepping away to round the truck.

“I'll be ready,” Jensen promises, happiness rising in his chest. He watches Jared get back into his truck and execute a quick three-point turn, offering a grin and a salute as he passes and starts back down the lane. “Let's go in and meet Mama,” he tells Sadie, kissing the top of her head between her ears.

\- = - = -

Jensen's already waiting on the steps of the back porch for Jared when he arrives ten minutes early. He doesn't hesitate to climb in the front seat, buckling his belt and grinning over at Jared as the dome light dims. “Hey.”

“Hey. Your parents must've decided to let Sadie stay,” Jared says, making the same turn he did earlier before glancing at Jensen.

“My Mama's curled up with her on the couch as we speak. She gonna be so spoiled, man.”

“Good. That's good.”

“You won't be saying that when she's twice the size she should be from bein' slipped food under the table.”

Jared laughs and turns right onto the highway when the reach the end of the gravel drive. “Speaking of-- you eat dinner yet?”

“Nope.”

“Good. There's this awesome place just this side of Dallas that has the best tacos.”

“You had me at the mention of food.”

“Well, you _are_ a growing boy.”

“Thanks for makin' me sound like a _kid_ , you jerk,” Jensen grumbles, backhanding Jared's thigh before he can stop himself.

“Hey,” Jared says quietly, catching his wrist and tentatively threading their fingers together. “I know you're not.” He looks over at Jensen through the hair that falls across his eyes. “Is this okay?”

Jensen has to bite his lip against the absolutely, ridiculously goofy grin he knows he's going to be sporting. He squeezes Jared's hand. “Yeah,” he says when he finally has his reaction under control. “It is.” A thought comes to him and he doesn't want to assume that holding hands means more than holding hands and the question bubbles up out of him uncertainly. “Hey, Jared?”

“Yeah?” Jared's fingers tense around Jensen's just the slightest bit.

“Is this a date?”

The dimple in Jared's cheek that Jensen can see winks at him as Jared tries to fight back his smile. “You want it to be?”

Jensen thinks about that for all of half a second. “Yeah, I do.”

“Then this is a date.”

“Does that mean you're gonna kiss me goodnight?” Jared's palm against his makes him feel bold.

“Maybe,” Jared laughs. “If you're lucky.”

\- = - = -

The tacos are just as good as Jared led him to believe. Dinner is followed by fresh, sticky-sweet buñuelos and a movie that Jensen can't remember the name of – he was too busy memorizing the feel of Jared's hand in his own and the sound of his breathing and the sight of his profile in the play of light and shadow from the flickering light of the projector above them.

Jensen doesn't want the night to end. He nearly begs Jared to take him back to Jared's hotel or motel or wherever he's staying, almost thinks Jared's having second thoughts himself when he pulls the truck off the road at the end of his lane and parks along the fence next to the mailbox. “Jay?”

Jared shifts in his seat. “I just...” He bites at his bottom lip and shakes his head, starts leaning in to close the distance between them before his seatbelt stops him short. He bows his head and huffs out a laugh as he hangs there against the tension for a moment.

Jensen reaches his hand out to press the button on the buckle and meets Jared's mouth halfway. The kiss is so _good._ Better than he ever could have dreamed. It's soft and sweet, and frantic and hot in turns. They kiss for what feels like hours, but the clock on the dash says **11:43** , so it's only been a couple of minutes, just long enough to bruise his lips and steal his breath. He reluctantly lets Jared pull away and put the truck back in drive to take him the rest of the way home.

The house is dark when Jared pulls around back. “So.”

“Meet me at the spring tomorrow night,” Jensen says, fingers curled around the door handle.

“What time?”

“Is midnight too late? I don't know how long my graduation party'll go, but I'd think everyone'll be gone by then.”

Jared reaches out for Jensen's hand and squeezes it. “Midnight. I'll be there.”

Jensen glances up at his parents' dark bedroom window before lunging across the seat to give Jared a final kiss. “Goodnight, Jared.”

Grinning, Jared shakes his head. “Goodnight.”

\- = - = -

The last of Jensen's friends leave around ten-thirty packed in the cab and bed of Chris Kane's truck. His mother gives him permission to stay over at Chris's so long as he cleans up the mess of his party in the barn before he goes. He cleans up in record time. Of course, he's not really going to Chris's – that's just his cover – and his friend is under the impression that Jensen's meeting up with one of the cheerleaders from Athens they met at a football game last fall.

He's got Pop Tarts and granola bars and a few bottles of water stuffed into his old duffel bag alongside a couple of blankets, a small tube of hand lotion shoved into the side pocket with hopeful embarrassment, and manages to get to the spring over half an hour early.

Jared shows up with Harley a little after twelve – he stalls at the edge of the clearing when he catches sight of Jensen sprawled out and waiting on the blankets. Harley barks happily and tears across the space between them, all but attacking Jensen with slobbery doggy kisses. Jensen laughs and manhandles Harley to the ground as he watches the expression on Jared's face shift from surprised to amused. Harley snuffles against his neck and wriggles against his hold. “I missed you, too, boy.”

Jared slowly approaches the blankets and Jensen tugs him down onto the pile when he's close enough to reach. With an undignified yelp, Jared collapses onto Jensen, just missing Harley who dances around them, barking excitedly. “You're disgusting,” Jared admonishes when Jensen drags his drool-covered cheek over the shoulder of Jared's shirt.

Jensen just laughs louder and forces Jared onto his back so he can settle on his chest and in the space between his thighs. They're perfectly aligned; Jensen threads his fingers through Jared's hair and tugs his head up so he can reach Jared's mouth.

Jared's arms come up around his back, then he's rolling them over and taking control of the kiss. “God, you drive me so crazy.”

Jensen arches his spine, seeking more contact, rolls his hips up and groans at the friction. “Jay. Jesus.” He clutches at Jared's shirt, bunches the cotton in his fists and holds on as Jared rocks against him. “I've got- there's lotion. In my bag.” When Jared rolls off of him to reach for the bag, he leans up on his elbows to watch the way the muscles of Jared's shoulders and back shift under his shirt. “And before you ask, yes, I _was_ a boy scout.”

Laughing, Jared crashes back onto him, biting at his mouth, then sucking on his tongue and- 

“If you don't hurry up and-- and _do_ something,” Jensen gasps, “I'm gonna come in my pants.”

“Wouldn't want that, now, would we?” Jared asks, nose grazing the taut tendon on the side of Jensen's throat.

“Nope. Nuh-uh.” Grasping the hem of Jared's tee, Jensen tugs it up and over Jared's head, static making his hair fan out in a halo. He buries his hands in it, brings Jared mouth back up to his own and holds on. Something big and wonderful unfurls inside his chest and he's never felt like this before. “I wish you could stay,” he whispers against Jared's lips.

“You know I can't,” Jared says, voice rough as his fingers where they grip one of Jensen's wrists.

Like the spring beside them, that bright something wells up and fills every little empty part of Jensen he never knew he had. It's right there, shimmering under his skin, in his veins, winding around his heart. “I love you.”

Trembling, Jared clings to him even harder. “Don't say that, Jen,” he breathes against Jensen's neck. “Please, don't say that.”

“But it's true.”

Jared shakes his head, kisses Jensen's temple and settles beside him on the blanket, legs tangled together, wrapped up in each other's arms. “You need to find somebody you can grow old and experience life with.”

“Maybe I want to live forever and experience it all with you.”

“I know you feel like that now but, Jensen... you're just-”

“What? 'Just' _what?_ ” Jensen demands, pushing away from Jared and sitting abruptly, feeling sick and furious all at once. “Just a _kid?_ Is that it? Is that- Well, fuck you, Jared.” He's shaking, feels dangerously close to tears and, as much as he wants to stand up and storm away and make Jared feel the way he's feeling right now, he can't make his legs work. Knees like jelly, all he can do is sit there with barely a foot of muggy air separating them. Just within reaching distance Jared proves, tentative hand shaking as he lifts it to Jensen's shoulder. He can't help but flinch at the touch and it only makes Jared's grip firmer.

“No, Jensen, you're not a kid. But you're eighteen. I was eighteen, too, once, a long time ago. I remember what it feels like to be that young. You think you love me, but you barely know me at all.”

Jensen shakes his head, listening to the sadness in Jared's voice. “I'm the only one who does.”

Jared doesn't say anything to that and silence falls over them like a heavy, uncomfortable blanket. He sighs and lets his hand slide down Jensen's arm to his wrist and tugs. “Come here.”

He follows Jared back down onto the blankets, lets Jared hold him and falls asleep with his head on Jared's chest. When he wakes up a few hours later, it's still dark and he's alone, no sign Jared's even been here.

For three days, Jensen goes back, but Jared never shows up again. He gets the message loud and clear, leaves one of his own: **J+J** carved into the trunk of the tree above the spring.

\- = - = -

_August 2000_

Jensen's cell phone vibrates in his pocket while he's in his interview with Misha Collins, HR director at the Omni in Austin. While hotel management isn't exactly what he wants to do, it'll at least give him some experience and help him get his foot in the door with the kind of job he _does_ want. Misha shakes his hand and all but tells him he's got the job. He fishes his phone out of his pocket and sees the missed call is from his mother and calls her back. But it's Mackenzie that answers. “Where are you, Jen?” she asks, forgoing a greeting.

“Still in Austin. I just got out of my job interview. Why?”

“Come home.”

He's four hours away. “Mack-”

“You gotta come home, _now_ , Jen.” Her voice sounds strained and it makes Jensen's blood feel like ice in his veins.

“What's wrong?” he asks, fearing the worst: something happened to one of his parents, somebody died.

“Just get here.” She sounds like she's crying now.

“I'm on my way. I'll be there soon.”

The drive passes in a panic-induced blur, then he's wrapped up in his mother's arms and she's sobbing. “What- what am I supposed to _do_?”

“This can't be happening. This can't- Mama. I'm so sorry, Mama.”

\- = - = -

They bury Josh a week later, the day after their father gets out of the hospital. He blames himself but it's nobody's fault – no one could've predicted that he'd have a heart attack at fifty.

Jensen finds himself stepping up, trying to fill shoes he has no business standing in. JD and Jim help out when and where they can as Jensen struggles to take over control of the ranch from his listless father. This is- _was_ \- supposed to be Josh's job.

He's with Sadie in the stable checking on their new foal when JD pokes his head in the door. “You expectin' company?”

Jensen shakes his head. “No. Why?”

“Somebody's comin' down the lane in an awful big hurry.”

A cloud of dust is rising up from the gravel drive preceding a dark blue truck Jensen hasn't seen in four years. After everything he's been through lately, he doesn't think he can take it if it's not Jared in that truck.

But it is. The Silverado skids to a stop feet from Jensen and Jared's jumping out of the cab and pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. “Jesus Christ,” he mutters into Jensen's hair.

Behind them, JD coughs and, in a rare show of embarrassment, stammers out an apology and quickly dismisses himself. “I'll be. Yep.”

“I was in Chicago when I found out,” Jared says, not letting him go. “I thought- I thought it was _you_ and-” He shakes his head, shudders out a breath as he leans back just far enough to look Jensen in the eye. “It felt like somebody ripped my heart out of my chest. If I could die, I think that's what it would feel like.”

“Jay-”

Jared interrupts him with a toe-curling, spine-tingling, life-affirming kiss. “I love you,” he says against Jensen's mouth.

“I know,” he says, nodding, barest hint of a smile turning up his lips.

“I never should've left you.”

“You shouldn't have,” Jensen agrees, pushing Jared's hair out of his eyes. It almost feels like looking at him for the first time. “But you thought you were protecting me. I was mad at you for a really long time, but I mostly just missed you.”

“I thought I lost you and-- I can't go through that again. I want you to, when you're ready-- will you?”

Jensen knows what he's asking even if he doesn't quite get the words out. He holds his gaze and nods, leaning in to close the distance between them. The kiss is gentle and chaste, just firm pressure of their mouths meeting, and it sets his blood on fire all over again. “I will,” he promises, resting their foreheads together. “When the time's right, I will.”

“Just... don't wait too long. Please.”

“Soon,” Jensen tells him, winding his arms around Jared's neck and just holding him close. “I will, soon.”

\- = - = -

_Now_

Jared's kneeling at the base of the tree where the gnarled roots burst through the ground on either side of the spring, the initials Jensen carved into the trunk just as clear above his head as they were the day he put them there.

Jensen kneels beside him in front of the spring and presses a kiss to his mouth before dipping his cupped hand into the small pool of cool water, raising it to his lips. Jared watches him with bright eyes and bated breath as he drinks from his palm and lets the sweet water flow over his tongue, sating his thirst. He fills his canteen before letting Sadie drink from the spring, Harley joining her once Jensen steps out of the way.

Jared leans in over the dogs and kisses him again, smile curling his lips. “Are you ready for an adventure?”

_THE END_


End file.
